


When a Rose Wilts

by orphan_account



Category: Captain America (Movies), Iron Man (Movies), Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: F my homework, Hurt Peter Parker, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, Kid Peter Parker, Parent Tony Stark, Peter Parker Needs a Hug, Peter Parker is a Mess, Protective Tony Stark, Tony Stark Acting as Peter Parker's Parental Figure, Tony Stark Feels, Tony Stark Has A Heart, Trans Peter Parker
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-13
Updated: 2019-12-13
Packaged: 2021-02-25 21:07:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,747
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21781942
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: It's one year after Ben's death. Peter doesn't take it well, starting a fight at school and not coming home after. Tony doesn't want his kid hurting anymore. So he does his best.
Relationships: May Parker (Spider-Man) & Peter Parker, Peter Parker & Tony Stark, Steve Rogers & Tony Stark
Comments: 1
Kudos: 136





	When a Rose Wilts

**Author's Note:**

> semi-inspired by the prompt "beaten"  
> also i published this in the middle of class if theres mistakes please dont smite me im so sorry im chaotic and stupid

Tony awoke to his phone frantically ringing. Tony had finally gotten to sleep and now it had to be disrupted. Tony seized his bedroom, dazed. His clumsy hand landed on his cell, autopiloting it to his ear. He tried to get some comprehensible words out, only mustering a blurry "Hello?" He asked, trying to wipe tiredness away from his voice. He rubbed his temple with his free hand, kicking his legs over the side of the bed and putting his elbows on his knees. "Tony Stark, at your service."

It was May, who seemed to be panicking. She seemed hysterical. The billionaire had trouble keeping up with what she was saying. What had her riled up so much? "Tony- Tony, he's gone! I can't find him anywhere-"

"Who? Peter?" Tony asked, rubbing his eyes.

"Of course, Peter! His- his suit's right here, folded on the counter- I can't find him anywhere. His backpack's gone, too- his phone and computer in his room- Tony, he's _gone_!"

"Hey, May, calm down. I have a tracker on the watch I gave him. It'll be okay, he's a teenager, he probably just... went on a stroll." Peter was aware it was Stark Tech, it was made for him to wear at all times and if there was an Avengers type threat at school or where he couldn't get to his suit, he was to call Tony on it. Now, the kid was smart, and Tony didn't need to tell him it was trackable, so the boy probably already knew. "How long has he been gone?"

"I just got home from work-" It was nearing 2 AM. _Jesus, May, just take the monthly money. It's like child support from a billionaire. Let me help you guys._ "-and I got ready for bed and- and I went to check on him and his window's open!"

"May, May, I'll go find him. You need to calm down. You're hysterical." Tony stood, running a hand through his hair. 

"Tony, my nephew's gone. He's _gone_."

"Okay, May," Tony was sure not to wake Pepper and made his way downstairs. "I promise I'll find him."

"The school called me- he's getting in fights now. I know him. I know he would never lay his hands on someone."

This made Tony stop. "He what?"

"Punched someone in the face. School left me a voicemail saying he- saying he punched someone in the face. No explanation. He's always told me this kid has been being mean to him but I didn't know it would get this bad. It got this bad, Tony. Something's wrong please- just find him. Call me as soon as you do. Please." May was crying now. Tony should've picked his words better.

"Okay, May. I will. I promise you, alright? You need to get some sleep, it's late. Goodnight." And the line disconnected. Tony made his way down to the basement, to his lab. The lights turned on as he stepped in. "FRIDAY, open up my Petey-Pie tracker." 

Peter wasn't in Queens. He was in Manhattan, up near the Harlem. That was hours on foot. Tony shook his head, getting in his suit and turning on autopilot. He sent the address to May, telling her that he was going to get him. 

_What the fuck is this kid doing in East Harlem on a Thursday night?_

* * *

About twenty minutes later, Tony found him. He landed a block away, returning the suit to his chest piece. He didn't want to freak the kid out by being in the suit, but by the sound of it, he'd probably need it again.

"Come on, little boy! Fight back or pay up!" A man shouted. Tony rushed over. Of course, the engineer had pulled his more normal attire while the suit charged its fuel. He hadn't refilled it and had a hunch he'd be flying today.

Peter had his arms up as if he would fight, but the man threw his fist across the teen's face. And Peter just _took_ it. The teen got up again, just like a soldier Tony knew. "I-I could do this all day." (Bucky must've taught him the catchphrase, seeing it wasn't public information.) He was in scuffed blue jeans and a purple sweatshirt, his hair a mess and blood scuffed over his face and fists. Peter wasn't even fighting back, either. His nose was bleeding, and by the looks of it, so was his mouth. The boy wiped it away, putting his fists up again.

_Oh, kiddo._

"Hey!" Tony shouted. He heard another blow land. "Get away from him!"

"Come on, old man, defending your baby?!" He turned, but when his eyes landed on Tony's face, the robber practically pissed his pants. 

"If you don't run, I'll blast you down myself. Don't you dare fucking think those are for show." Tony looked down at him. Needless to say, the man ran off. Peter was on the ground, coughing. Red splattered the ground when he did. _Oh, god, Peter was coughing up blood. "_ Pete-" Tony dropped on one knee, hands-on Peter's shoulders. The boy had his arms wrapped around his chest, inhales wheezy and shaky. He didn't answer, so the mentor did the talking. "Kid, what's wrong?"

Peter let out a rough cough, hesitating. "Miss'r Stark, I-I'm... how did you.." Tears made their way down the son's face, dripping onto the ground.

"Your watch," Tony replied, his expression tart. "May's worried _sick_." Tony put his hands on the boy's cheeks, softening his voice.. "What happened?"

"Walkin' and he grabbed me." There were tears in Peter's eyes, tracks on his bloody face. This wasn't the teen Tony knew. "He thought-" He breathed shakily like something was wrong. His throat hitched, cutting off his sentence.

"He thought what?" Tony asked, his voice gentle.

"Nothing." He murmured. "I was fine on my own."

"Kid, you're coming back to the compound. Back home. Is everything okay? What happened?"

"Nothing happened, Mr. Stark." Peter's voice was suddenly icy, so Tony had to level that.

"You're getting in fights now?"

"Let go of me!" Peter fought free, his voice was hoarse. 

"Kid, just talk to me. You need to come back to the compound. Your aunt's worried sick, you're.. you aren't you. Something happened, bubba, I know something did. I just need you to tell me what so I can help you."

Peter didn't speak, blood coming from his nose and shaky wheezes coming from his breathing. 

"That's all I want to do. I just want to help you, Pete." Tony took a step closer, the boy not flinching away. Slowly, Tony wrapped his arms around the boy, hand in his hair. Peter melted into the embrace, his cries reduced to sniffles and silent tears. 

"' M sorry." He murmured into Tony's arms, shoulders quivering. God, the boy was _cold_. The boy couldn't thermoregulate and New York wasn't that kind. 

"It's okay, I forgive you." 

The two stood there for a while, together. Peter felt so _small_. Tony bit himself for not taking the car. "I have your suit."

"No." Peter spat, near immediate. 

"Okay, okay, no suit." Tony resumed soothing his back. "I can fly you back in mine. You can wear mine, I'll call-"

"No." He repeated. 

"Alright, kiddo. What do you want to do? I can call an Uber, though I know May would hate me calling an Uber in New York."

"Can we do that?" Peter asked quietly, dismissing the last comment.

"Of course, bubba." He ran his hands through his hair. "In a minute. When we get back we can get hot chocolate, get you some warmer clothes..."

"I don't want to go back. Please, Mr. Stark, don't make me go back."

"Hey, hey, kid, I promise things will be alright. Is it May? Is it school?"

Peter just shook his head against Tony, shoulders tense. "I don't want to go back."

"Okay, bubba. Where were you going?"

Peter didn't speak for a moment. "Harlem."

"So you got close, huh? What's in Harlem?" Tony tried to lighten the mood, moving his hand to Peter's curls. Peter was silent, unanswering. "Have you ever even _been_ to Harlem? If you wanted to go, you could've just asked and one weekend we'd-"

"Ben's in Harlem."

Silence fell over them.

Peter never spoke about Ben. He mentioned that he'd lost his uncle soon after the bite and that May had taken another job to cover it, but he never called him just Ben. It was always 'my uncle' or 'uncle Ben', never _just_ Ben. Tony's heart broke in two."Peter, I'm so sorry. I-"

"I wanna go home." He murmured, mostly to himself. "It's so cold."

"Okay, kid." Tony let go of his hair. "Did that guy get anything off you?"

"No, sir." He said quietly. He pulled off Tony, his face wet with blood and tears. Tony's jacket wasn't as appealing as it had been before. Peter always apologized if he'd scuffed the kitchen floors or gotten Tony's sunglasses dirty, but he didn't speak about the jacket this time. Tony called for a lift on his phone, sitting on the curb with Peter, rubbing his back. The boy looked like he was about to fall asleep, but Tony didn't let him. 

"Do you have any tissues? You're still bleeding."

"In my bag." Peter shrugged off a light green backpack, passing it to him. Tony opened it, and the first thing he saw broke his heart.

It was a flower in a plastic bag, a dark red. And there was a picture tied to it, but Tony would have to flip it over to see the image. The condensation was still on the flora, showing it was near brand new.

Tony dug for the tissues carefully, finally finding a pack and cleaning him up gently. Peter closed his eyes, tears still seeping through. "I'm sorry, kid. I am."

Peter didn't speak. He lied against Tony's shoulder, the blood from his lips stopping. Peter was cold, near shivering, which made Tony take off his jacket and wrapping it around him, rubbing his arms to warm him. 

**TONY**  
Kid's alright

* * *

Tony had to keep shaking Peter awake in the car, who wasn't speaking as much. Tony didn't want him sleeping in his binder- if he was even wearing it. The mentor didn't dare ask. Maybe that's what was bothering him? They exited at the hotel down the street, Tony wearing the boy's bag. 

"Here," The hero handed the boy his sunglasses. This would be the worst thing to get out into the media. Tony walked him into the tower quickly, rubbing his arms. "You okay, bubba?"

"I'm just tired." Peter murmured. And though he said it a lot, it's obvious this time he meant it. 

"Okay, kiddo. We can get you a bath-"

"Don' like baths." Peter murmured. The elevator lurched into action.

"Okay, that's okay. A shower? Something warm. We can make you some hot chocolate and- have you eaten?"

"Nossir." He murmured. Tony thought of all the things he wanted to say. _No wonder you're so cold. You don't have any energy to warm yourself. You need to take better care of yourself. You can't die on me, I'm an old man. I won't be able to handle it._

But Tony didn't say any of those things.

Tony lowered his voice. "We can get some food for you, too."

"It's late. I-I just want to sleep." Peter's eyes went teary again,

"I know, but you gotta get the blood off you. You won't be comfortable." Tony glanced down at the boy's hands. His knuckles had been smeared with blood, most of which was his own. "Plus New York isn't that clean, kiddo."

The doors opened and the two made it to the kid's bedroom, Tony running the shower while Peter grabbed some warmer clothes. 

"You're all set up, okay? If you need anything, just tell FRI. I'll be out on the couch." Tony set his hands on the boy's shoulders. "Everything's gonna be okay. I promise."

Peter nodded, and Tony brought him close. Peter's shoulders visibly untensed. "I'm sorry, Mr. Stark. Things have been rough."

"I know they have. And that's okay. Things are gonna be rough."

"I didn't mean to scare you."

"I'm old, bubba." Tony laughed. "I'm pretty easy to scare. Just try to relax, kid. You deserve it." Peter let go and gathered his clothes as Tony made for the door. The adult stopped in the doorway. "I love you, _bambino_."

Tony gently shut the door. "FRIDAY, mute Peter's room. Is Steve here?"

"Yes, boss. Mr. Rogers and Mr. Barnes are both in their respective bedrooms."

"Let me know if Peter leaves the building and give me updates."

"Will do, boss."

"Thanks, dearie."

* * *

Tony opened his eyes to Steve standing over him, frowning. He rubbed his eyes. "What?"

"I thought you said you went to bed before midnight. I went to bed after you and I was on the couch before bed." Steve frowned. "Why were you up? I thought you were trying to fix your-"

"Steve, shut up. Please. Just shut up."

"Are you hungover?" Steve pulled him into a sitting position, making Tony furiously shake his head.

"No! Of course not, not a drop! I told you this- it was just an emergency, okay? I had to go to Harlem for a moment, I wasn't drinking, I wouldn't." Tony said quickly. He stood up, shaking his head. He exited to the kitchen."I swear I'll take any test, I didn't drink."

Steve put his hands up as if he hadn't _just_ been super accusatory. "Okay, Tony, I believe you. What were you doing in Harlem?"

"Just a, uh," Tony cleared his throat. "Family issue."

"Tony-" Steve frowned, about to debunk his excuse, but Bucky entered, hair disheveled and looking as if he had just woken up. Steve's attention immediately turned to the soldier. 

"You're a dick," Bucky said in Steve's direction. "I hate you. You fucking blanket hogger."

Tony took this opportunity to ditch into the kitchen to avoid any further conversations about the kid. Pouring coffee, Tony tried to think over what to do next. M _aybe he needs a therapist?_

Steve started on breakfast, having small talk with Bucky while the engineer left the room. God, those two could get on Tony's nerves and it got even worse when they were together.

Tony knocked on the kid's door. "Pete?" After hearing no answer, he opened the door. Peter was laying on his stomach across his bed, on his phone. He still looked sad, but not angry. "Hey, bubba."

"Hey, Mr. Stark." 

"You feeling any better?" Tony sat on the bed. It was bigger than Peter's old twin bunk bed, so that was a plus.

"I guess."

Tony took a moment to come up with the words. "You know Sam? The Falcon?" Peter put down the phone and looked up into Tony's eyes, nodding. Tony hesitated. "He's a therapist. So if you ever wanted to talk to someone, you two can sit down. But, I don't think you really wanna do that with someone you had to fight, huh?"

"He doesn't know I'm me, though."

"It's not about him. I don't think _you'd_ want to do that. And if you do, that's fine with me. And if you don't, we can find someone for you. Hell, I can set you up with my old one if you'd like. I wanna help you, bubba." Tony scooted closer, running his hands through his boy's hair. "Anything that'll make you happy."

Peter nodded. "I saw one, for a little bit before..." The boy trailed off, giving Tony the message.

"Yeah?" Tony interrupted. "How was it?"

"It was just so I could go on T, so it was... short. I guess."

"Well, we can get you a more long-term one if you want. Anything, kiddo." He paused, looking up into the ceiling. "I don't want you to feel stressed to not come to talk to me about it if you think it's anything related to money. Because it isn't."

"I know. And, uh, yeah. I think I'd like to see one."

"Alright, we can talk it out later this weekend, okay? Let's go get some breakfast."

"Yessir."

* * *

That weekend, the Daily Bugle reported on Tony Stark being caught in Harlem with an unidentified teenager. They were found laying flowers at a barren grave. And somehow, all photos of the two were taken down seconds after hitting the internet.

**Author's Note:**

> thank you so much for reading! Feel free to leave a comment if you liked, and leave a prompt on my tumblr!  
> 


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